The Hindu : Front Page : Menaka goes digital

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 25, 2006
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Menaka goes digital

K.N. Murali Sankar

Menaka theatre complex.

VIJAYAWADA: Movie buffs from the city who have been seeing the Salman Khan-starrer `Jaanemann' in Menaka theatre are being treated to a new experience since Friday. The reason: the movie is being screened in digital format in the theatre. Menaka theatre enjoys the privilege of being the first digital cinema theatre in coastal Andhra region.

It is the 15th theatre in the State to have been equipped with digital projector. As many as 13 cinema halls in Telangana and one in in Rayalaseema region have digital projectors.

Screening of movies in digital format began in Menaka theatre on Friday.

Tech support

Bangalore-based United Film Organisers (UFO) Moviez has provided the technical support to all these theatres to screen digital movies.

Besides offering a qualitative screening of films with better audio and video, this mode of film projection will reduce workload and expenditure on film distributors and exhibitors.

The UFO Moviez transmits the movie to cinema theatres through satellite. The movie can be downloaded in the hard disc and screened in the theatres.

The transmission is done well in advance, but the password is given to the theatre management only on the day of release of the movie.

If the company encounters any difficulty in transmission, it sends the DVD of the movie to the theatres.

The UFO Moviez has installed equipment worth Rs. 18.5 lakhs in Menaka theatre, while the theatre management has invested Rs. 3.5 lakhs, including a refundable deposit of Rs. 2 lakhs. A rent of Rs. 12,000 is to be paid to the company every week.

"In conventional mode of screening, we have to spend Rs. 60,000 to get a movie print. It is quite expensive compared to the rent of digital movies," says G. Viswanath, proprietor of triplet theatres Rambha, Urvasi and Menaka.

After paying a rent of Rs. 12,000, the theatre management can screen the movie 28 times. "After 28 screenings, the password expires automatically. To continue the screening, we have to deposit the rent for one more week and get a new password," he explains.

Mr. Viswanath says the new mode of screening has come in handy for him, as he prefers to screen Hindi and English movies that run for less than four weeks in the city.

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